


Love, Magic, and Dentistry

by isquinnabel



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Dentistry, Family, Gen, Muggle-born, Muggle/Wizard Relations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-05
Updated: 2016-01-05
Packaged: 2018-05-11 23:18:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5645431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isquinnabel/pseuds/isquinnabel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hermione came home for the holidays with magically altered teeth, and her parents could not let it go.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love, Magic, and Dentistry

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rain_sleet_snow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rain_sleet_snow/gifts).



> Happy fandom stocking, rain_sleet_snow! :) This fic came out a little bit sadder than I originally intended, I hope it's still to your liking.

 

“Alright, that’ll do. Rinse and spit.”

Hermione, for what felt like the thousandth time that week, reached for a small paper cup. Her parents had spent an unprecedented amount of time obsessing over her teeth over the past few days, and she was surprised it had taken so long to get to her regular fluoride treatment.

There had been x-rays. A new plaster mould, to compare with the old one. A second new mould, when Mum had pointed out a problem with the first. Countless hours sitting obediently in the dentist’s chair, mouth open, while Mum and dad debated the finer points of the current positioning of her teeth.

The Grangers were nothing if not thorough.

“It’s like I told you,” said Hermione – not impatiently, but not quite patiently either. “Madam Pomfrey handled it.”  
“Yes, sweetheart, we know.”  
“I’m fine!”  
“Yes, you’ve told us. Your father and I just need to see that for ourselves.”  
“I can’t get over it,” said dad, shaking his head. “There’s no evidence of any work at all. It’s a bit unsettling, really.”

Hermione bit back the hundreds of possible retorts. She couldn’t say any of them; they were all some variation of “that’s because it’s _magic_ , for heaven’s sake!” Violating the Statute of Secrecy in her parents’ surgery wasn’t exactly the most productive way to spend the holidays.

“But I’m fine,” she eventually replied. “You’ve said yourselves that there aren’t any problems.”  
“Your mum said that,” teased dad. “I said that there weren’t any obvious problems. Big difference!”  
Hermione and her mother both rolled their eyes, at exactly the same time, but for rather different reasons.  
“Hermione, it’s not just your teeth. I’ll admit that everything seems fine – whatever that Pomfrey woman did, she’s done an exemplary job. But we asked you to do this our way, and keep using your brace, and then you flat-out ignored us.”

Hermione hesitated, considering telling her parents the truth. That it wasn’t a purely cosmetic decision, but driven by necessity. That Malfoy’s spell had enlarged her front teeth to the point where she’d had to use both hands to conceal her face. That the rest of her teeth were crammed painfully together while she fled the dungeon. That they couldn’t possibly imagine what an x-ray of her teeth would have once looked like.

But there were some things her parents were better off not knowing. She hung her head.  
“I’m sorry.”


End file.
